Broken Wings
by ButterflyMiko
Summary: Two mysterious women have come to the aid of Abel and Cain. With their magical help, which side will win in the end?
1. Destiny

You still do not understand."

The woman, clad in black with raven's wings, approached her twin, the woman clad in white.

"You believe that we must fight. Darkness and Light. Good and Evil." Chaos, the dark twin, smoothed the hair from her sisters face. "Cosmos."

"You destroy. I create." Cosmos accused.

"Without destruction there can be no creation." Chaos responded.

Cosmos growled, reaching for her weapon. "You KILLED everyone!"

"WE killed everyone." Chaos corrected. "Our battle."

Chaos looked down at the chessboard. "That's chessmate. Do you remember our agreement?"

Cosmos sighed. "Yes. I remember. Do I at least get to choose the human?"

"No." Chaos said. "I know you favor the Contra Mundi. You will be granting aid to Cain. I will be aiding Abel Nightroad."

Cosmos began to cry.

"Down we go...to the battles of the mortals, sister."

XXX

Abel looked up into the sky

There was a great meteor shower that night, the most spectacular one of the century, and he was fascinated.

"Oh," Abel said. "A shooting star. Should I make a wish?"

A woman appeared on the edge of the roof. In the darkness she turned, as if she had stepped from the air.

"I have come here." She said.

The woman had long dark hair, skin like moonlight, eyes like the night sky, and wore dark clothes, though her shirt glittered like the stars. Her hair and clothes looked to be burned on the edges.

"My name is Kuri. I'm here to help you Abel." She said.

In her mind, she smiled up at the moon.

Xxx

Cain was in his mansion home. He was lazily looking at the tv when it flashed white and a girl was standing there.

She was blonde, but her hair had a touch of red. Her eyes were emerald green, and she had a dusting of freckles, and her skin was tanned. How did she get in?

Fascinated, Cain did not attack at first.

He went to the room and opened it, looking at the girl. She was wearing a plain white dress with no adornment.

"I have come seeking brilliance." The woman said loudly in the language of the empire. "Do you shine brightly with great light of justice?!"

She approached Cain.

"Do you?"

Cain stared at her. "Who are you?"

"I am...what should you call me, mortal..." the woman searched her mind. "You shall call me Rei. I believe I shall aid you."

She lowered her voice and spoke in another language, one that Cain found he understood.

"_I will help you to your destiny, Cain.."_


	2. Auspicious

"_I will defeat you, Cain..." Abel was standing on the roof. "Kuri."_

_She ran to him._

_"I'm so happy! Have you come back!?" Kuri said._

_"Kuri, I've come back." Abel kissed her. "I've made it back safely. And so..."_

_His body melted away in her arms._

Xxx

Kuri bolted upright in bed.

_"It was... a dream,"_ she thought.

She got dressed and went downstairs.

Kuri placed a cup of tea with thirteen sugar cubes in front of Abel.

Xxx

In the park, a flash of light appeared in the sky.

A small girl floated down from above, holding an umbrella over her head. Her red hair was tied into two heart-shaped balls, with ribbons of hair coming out. As she reached the ground, flower petals sprinkle down on her. She climbed up to a walkway above, and looked up at the Vatican.

"All right," said Kuri. "I've finished washing the dishes. Now I can get to the cleaning and the laundry. Maybe I'll go to the supermarket, too. What shall we have for dinner tonight..."

The doorbell rang. Kuri went down to the door and opened it. She stared out the door. "Eh?"

The small girl looked up at her. "Ga Ga?"

"Ahiru?"

Xxx

The AX gathered.

"It seems these two women have appeared out of nowhere." Caterina said.

"Do you have any idea who they are?" Abel said.

"It seems that they really can help us." Caterina said. "Let's see how this plays out."

Xxx

"I'm home!" Abel called as he entered his room. He saw a small pair of shoes at the doorway. _"Whose shoes are these?" _He thought.

"Welcome back!" said Kuri..

"Baaack!" said Ahiru.

Abel's eyes widened. "Wh- Who is that!?"

"Now, now, Abel," Kuri said. "You haven't forgotten our daughter, Ahiru-chan, have you?"

"Chan have you?" said the girl.

"What the-!?" Abel cried. "It can't be. So Ahiru is your name?"

"Is your name?" Ahiru said.

"Whatever you ask her," Kuri said, "that's what she does."

"What she does!" said Ahiru.

Kuri came over and picked the girl up. "Ahiru-chan," she said. "It's your bedtime."

Xxx

The next morning they met on the roof to talk about recent events.

Kuri grabbed her head in pain and doubled over.

_"Ouch!"_ she thought. _"It's like my head is splitting...!"_

"Get away from Kuri!" Abel said to Cain. Abel ran to Kuri and held her away from his brother. "What did you do to her!?"

"Nothing," he said.

"I'm all right, Abel," said Kuri. "Just got a little headache. We were only talking."

"I don't know what he did," said Abel. "Don't go near him by yourself again."

_"Did he use some power on me?"_ Kuri thought. _"No, it wasn't that. When I thought of my home I was filled with pain."_

The two returned to the AX.

There was a woman standing there. She was wearing leather and holding a gun. It was Reiko. "I've come to kill the Cardinal."

Kuri jumped in front of Caterina, protecting her from Reiko.

A bright light flashed, and Reiko was driven back.

"Haha," Reiko said. "You won't beat me."

"Who are you?" Abel said.

"I am Reiko." She said. "I am your assassin."

Her hair wrapped around Abel's neck, strangling him.

Bang! Reiko was shot, driven out of the window.

Standing there, shaking, was the little girl Ahiru. "Y-Your assassin..."


	3. Circling

The alarm clock buzzed loudly. Half past eight. Kuri sat up in bed. "Kuri!" Abel called. "Gooood morniiing!"

"Morning, Abel!" said Kuri.

Tres waved as they left the Vatican. The two ran off ahead.

"Holding hands at this unearthly hour..." Tres said.

Xxx

Kuri fainted on her way home.

She fell into the arms of Noelle.

"We're too late," she said.

Noelle carried Kuri in her arms, and stood next to Kate and Caterina.

A crowd surrounded them.

"The AX! The best singing group!"

They ran outside the airport and hail a cab.

"Caterina!"

"Kate!"

"Noelle!"

The three women got into the cab, and it sped off.

Kuri opened her eyes. _"The scent of fragrant olives..."_ she thought. She saw Noelle looking down at her. "Who's that?"

"We'll be in town shortly." Noelle said.

Kuri sat up. "I..." she said. "I have to get off..."

"Excuse me," said Caterina. "Driver, this is fine."

The cab stopped and they got out. Kuri walked away.

"We brought her all the way here," said Kate, "and she didn't even say thanks."

Noelle stared after her.

Xxx

The alarm clock buzzed loudly.

Half past eight.

Kuri sat up in bed.

Abel grinned at her. 'You ready for the Task Force concert? It was Tres's idea."

They headed to the concert.

Xxx

Three women in dresses walked onto the stage. "The AX!?" Kuri cried. "No way!"

"So these are the AX," said Abel. "They're cool."

"They're so far away," said Abel. "You can't see their faces very well."

Noelle held out a flower to Abel.

"Abel," Noelle said "We are on the same side.

"Thank you," said Abel.

Caterina held out her hand to Kuri.

"I am Caterina," she said. "I like your style. We carry the same things. I'd like to shake your hand."

Kuri shook Caterina's hand.

"AX!" called the crowd. "Please give us an encore!"

Abel stared at the three as they walk away.

"Abel?" said Kuri.

"AX," he said. "Those three... Who are they?"

As the AX went on stage, a girl watched from the back of the room.

"Ehehe..." she said. "I've found them. The Task Force."

She jumped up.

"I, Nezumi, of the Rosencrutz, have got you!" She shot a blast of light at the stage. The girl had white hair and a K carved in her scalp.

The AX jumped out of the way. Electricity sparked on the equipment onstage.

"This is the emergency route," said a voice over the P.A. system. "Please obey these instructions and do not panic."

Nezumi was unleashing monstrous creatures on the crowd.

What the-!?" said Kuri.

"What happened!?" said Abel.

"Hehe!" said Nezumi. "I finally found you, and now you expect me to let you escape? Now, come on out, High Priestess."

"An enemy!?" Abel said. "Get behind me, priestess!"

"Fat chance!" Kuri said.

Kuri pushed all the people outside the room. Abel locked the door.

"The door won't open!" said a man. "Damnit!" said another. They pounded on the door. "What the hell's going on!?"

"I've been waiting for you, High Priestess," said Nezumi.

Kuri had arrived just as the demons had finished attacking Abel. He was collapsed on the ground all bloody.

"The title of Priest is wasted on you!" Nezumi accused.

Seeing Abel visibly flinch, Kuri stepped in. "That's enough. I am the one you want."

She threw out her hands, and the resulting silver blast destroyed the demons. "Seisei!"

Nezumi moved to land a finishing blow on Abel, laughing at Kuri.

"No!" Kuri shouted.

"Jigoku!" A voice called.

Nezumi was surrounded in light and destroyed. A bracelet dropped to the floor and vanishes.

"Who's there!?" said Abel.

Three spotlights shone on the stage, showing three women standing there.

The three women jumped into the air and disappear.

Abel and Kuri stared after them.

"Those three!?"


	4. Ripples

_"I love you... I love you, Abel."_

_"Kuri."_

_"Abel!"_

_She ran to him._

_"I'm so happy! Have you come back!?"_

_"Kuri, I love you."_

_He kissed her._

_"I've made it back safely," he said. "And so..."_

_His body melted away in her arms._

Xxx

Kuri bolted upright in bed.

_"It was... a dream," _she thought.

She got dressed and went downstairs.

She went outside.

"I'm leaving," she said.

Xxx

Abel sat in bed. "_That kid..."_ he thought. "_She can't be my daughter!"_

Abel saw the little girl peering in at the door to her room.

"Want to come sleep with me?" Abel asked.

The girl knelt down and put something on the floor.

"Huh?" said Abel. "What are you doing?"

The pot on the ground filled the air with scents.

"That smells good," said Abel. "Is it incense? Did you get that from Kuri's room?"

Abel breathed in the air.

_"Ah..."_ he thought. _"This... The sweet scent of fragrant olives... This scent... Somewhere, before...?"_

Abel fell asleep with the small girl in bed next to him.

Xxx

Kuri pulled out AX concert tickets. "Of course, these are for peace," she said. "Since the recent enemy attack was at a concert..."

Kuri and Abel cheer in the crowd at the concert.

"Since we want peace," Abel said., "we can't leave the concert, right?"

The three women walked onto the stage, and the audience cheered.

"A faint orange star in the center," Abel said, walking onto the roof. "I wonder what its name is..."

"It's a man-made satellite."

Abel turned.

Caterina pointed to a light in the sky.

"Wow," Abel said.. "It's so bright, you can see it. Do you like stars?"

"Yes," she said. "I do."

"Did you escape here from all your fans again? It must be tough, being mobbed. I wouldn't think idols would have time to do anything. They'd be so busy."

"Anything, as long as we can sing..." Caterina said.

"I feel... like I've met you somewhere before..." said Abel. "O- Oops. I shouldn't have said that, not to such a famous person."

"I- I..." Abel said. "I really like your AX debut single. It's so moving... The song is pretty, and I still feel it in my heart."

"Your saying that," said Caterina, "makes me very happy. We wanted to sing this song, so we became singers."

"I see it," Abel said. "I feel it now. The aura surrounding her."

"Caterina you fool!"

Kate and Noelle burst onto the roof.

"Your power has come out without protection! They've sensed you!"

A hooded woman floated up to the roof.

"Hahahaha," she said. "I am Sirena!"

_"Sirena!?"_ Abel thought.

"Cataracta!" Sirena shouted.

The AX dashed between her and Abel.

Kuri jumped in front of them, shielding them from the attack.

"Haha," Sirena said. "You won't beat me."

Kuri turned to the AX. "Did you call an enemy!? I won't let you! Get away from Abel! If you want, we'll settle this now!"

"No!" Darren said.. "They aren't enemies! The aura surrounding the AX is the same as ours! They are on our side!"

Sirena's hair whipped out and wrapped around Kuri's arms and necks, strangling her.

"Hahahaha!"

"KURI!"

Abel rushed forward and attacked.

The attack bounced off harmlessly.

"It was repelled!?"

"Abel!" Kuri choked out.

"I am also a member of the clan!" Sirena said. "The AX! I am a member of Rosencrutz!"

"What!?"

"I won't blow it like Nezumi did!" she said. "For our leader, I will destroy you!"

"KURI!" Abel grabbed her.

A force of light traveled up the hair and burned Sirena alive.

The AX fell to one knee before Kuri and Abel

"The place where the stars drift..." Caterina said.

"Holding three infinite lights..." Kate said.

"We are the AX!" Noelle said.


	5. Crows

"AX!?" said Abel. "It can't be!"

Abel stared blankly.

Kuri slapped him. "They are real. But I don't trust them."

Noelle stepped forward. "Abel. We..."

"Don't come any closer!" said Kuri, standing in front of Abel. She pulled out her gun. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to kill me first! Who are you, and what do you want!?"

"I understand how hurt you must feel," said Kate. "But if you're as lacking in composure and confused as you are now, you won't be able to win against Cain."

_"Cain!?"_ thought Abel.

"He will attack you without mercy," said Caterina. "You don't have time to worry about us. Seriously, you must fight him! If you don't..."

The three AX members jumped off the roof of the building.

"AX..." said Kuri. "The ones who attacked us at the concert, and then today. They were called Rosencrutz."

"Cain," said Abel. "That is the enemy...!"

"The enemy this time," said Kuri, "is it Cain...?"

"The AX," said Abel. "Are they the enemy, too!? No! In the moment when I was attacked by Nezumi, they guarded me. It seems like everyone is protecting me..."

A hand pulled at Kuri.

Kuri looks down and saw the small girl with red hair.

"Ahiru... Are you coming to cheer me up?" Kuri hugged her.

"Such a torrent of evil spirit...! That direction... Toward Headquarters!?"

Tres lay unconscious on the ground as crows flock overhead.

"The light of your heart is nearly mine," said Karasu. "What if you were to show yourself to me? High Priestess! Or your true name: CHAOS!"

Kuri descended to the ground.

"Chaos, it's been a while, hasn't it."

"Karasu...!"


	6. Awakened

"Chaos," she says. "The divine, radiant Chaos was chosen for that power. She was given that name...but it's not like that anymore! I am Karasu!"

"Another Rosencrutz!?"

"Living things in this galaxy all carry a soul," Karasu says. "I serve the true Priestess, Reiko!"

Kuri dodge out of the way, as a blast shoots past them and destroys the Hikawa Shrine.

"That power!?"

"Heh heh heh! Yes!" says Karasu. "I have obtained the power from Reiko!"

"You've betrayed me, Karasu?"

"Our allies are no more! You abandoned us for your eternal battle with Cosmos!"

She thrusts her arm out, Kuri was knocked to the ground.

"Kuri!" Abel calls.

He rushes toward the shrine.

He attacked Karasu and she was killed.

"Kuri!" Abel say.

They run toward Kuri.

A bright light flashes between them.

Reiko appears through the light.

"In the end, the result is always the same, sister...we will always end alone, and in desolation..."

xxx

"Now, this way," l says. "I think she'll be awake soon. I wonder what's wrong with her. She fell ill quite suddenly."

He opens the door to Kuri's room.

Ahiru is sitting on her knees at Kuri's bedside.

She turns to them.

Abel eyes meet with hers.

"Oh, Ahiru," says Abel. "You were in Kuri's room. Want a snack?"

"All right!"

She gets up and runs to Abel.

_"That girl...?"_ Abel thinks.

Kuri slowly opens her eyes.

Abel approach her.

"That woman...was Reiko."

"Yes, it is," says Abel. "She is your strongest enemy."

"Where is she?"

Abel pauses.

"We can't just destroy her...she's...it's different."

Xxx

Ahiru sleeps by the table.

"Give us that incense burner."

She looks up and sees the AX appear.

"Come on," says Caterina.

Ahiru stands up between them and the burner and holds her arms out.

"No!" she says. "No! No! Nooo!"

Mist begins to seep out from the incense burner, and a woman appears, veiled in the mist.

"It's all right, Ahiru," the woman says. "These people are my special friends."

Kuri was wearing a beautiful dark blue starry gown and was glowing with unknown magic. The incense burner had given her her powers back.

The AX gasped.

"Priestess!"

Abel stood in the doorway, shocked.


	7. Enemy

"You- you were this close to us," Abel says. "This whole time..."

They kneel before the woman.

"This whole time, we have been searching for you, my Priestess."

"Abel..." Kuri says. "Caterina, Kate, Noelle. I've finally met you...! I always heard your voices, the voices of your hearts. So many times I thought of going to you. But my body's recovery took longer than I had expected... Ahiru helped me. She told me of you three. She has always protected and encouraged me."

"Ahiru...?" says Abel. "Who on earth are you...?"

The woman turns to the small girl.

"I felt the power of you," she says. "You are powerful, aren't you, Ahiru?"

Ahiru smiles at her, revealing her fangs.

"I am Kuri," says the woman. She kneels before Abel. "I am the Priestess...the one who will fight the Rosencrutz."

"I apologize for the rudeness of these ones," Kuri says. "The AX was protecting me."

"How do you know me...?" Abel says.

"You are a Crusnik. I know every Crusnik that ever was or will be."

"Priestess," says Noelle. "The enemy escaped before we could deliver the final blow. It seemed she was not being ruled in her heart."

"Abel," says Kuri. "I request that you please save us. The world is becoming a horrible thing now. My sister Reiko is working with the Cain and has begun attacking all of our people. Reiko is the Rosencrutz Priestess. She is forcing the young with ambition and power to work under her. She has built a horrific empire."

"But no matter how many people are attacked, only when Reiko and Cain reach us will the real test occur. Reiko's final target is surely you."

"Why... me...?" says Abel.

"It is because of Cain's choice." Kuri said. "His vendetta, and your destiny."

"Destiny..." Abel said begrudgingly.

Kuri looked at Abel. "You are so heavily burdened..."

He slowly leans down and kisses her softly on the lips.

She got up and walks to the door. "It's late. I'll take you home."

"That's okay," said Abel, holding Ahiru. "We can manage. ...Thank you."

Kuri watches the two leave.

"We are of different places in this world," Kuri thinks to himself. "This love might be impossible."

Xxx

"Yay! Swings!"

Ahiru runs into the park.

"Ahiru," says Abel. "If we don't get home, the others will be worried."

"Just a little!" says Ahiru as she jumps onto the swing.

"Hmph..." says Abel. "You're a wonderful kid, you Ahiru. You don't tell me anything at all. But strangely, you're dear and lovable, and you put me at ease. Even though you don't say anything, you seem to understand... I was startled that you're a soldier, too. ...Just where are you from? Who are you?"

Ahiru looks up at her.

"I'm me."

Abel stares at her. "I'm me..." she thinks to herself.

She grimaces.

"Hey now! You dodged the question again! Answer me for real, Ahiru!"

A feather drops to the ground.

Abel looks up and sees a woman with long hair blowing in the wind, cast in shadow by the moonlight.

"...Who's that?"

Abel picks up the feather and hands it to the woman.

"Thank you," the woman says. "You always have so many friends. I wonder if that special light inside you draws them to you. Or is it darkness?"

She spreads her arms out and is surrounded in light. A storm of wind blows at Abel.

"Who is that!?" she thinks. "Such power!"

A bolt of lightning strikes the park from the sky. Energy swirls around the woman.

Rain begins to pour down.

"A storm!?" Abel thinks. "Such strong power! This is like no enemy before! Who is that!?"

"It can't be...!" thinks Kurai. "Priestess of Rosencrutz, Reiko!"

The woman smiles as her power spreads out through the city.

"It can't be!"


	8. Actions

Kurai grips Ahiru in her arms as the storm blasts around them.

"The city!" she thinks. "It's being blown away!"

Buildings rip apart, pieces flying into the air.

"It's too late! I can't last through it by myself! Such power! This is nothing like the enemies before!"

The woman before her chuckles.

"This is... a hallucination!" Kurai thinks.

"We'll get everyone back! We'll get them back to their original forms! Right away, we will become one and defend the clan!"

The woman floats toward her.

"Is that so...?" she says. "Really, if your allies really all gather again, will your friends' bodies return to normal?"

The chalice glows.

"But... Whenever we always become one... We'll continue the fight through the future..."

"Is the future you know, really the future?"

The woman presses a finger to Kurai's forehead.

"Will the future you know, really come?"

She presses lightly, and Kurai tumbles backward, pulling Ahiru and Abel with her.

"What's wrong? Is this the end? With this, this planet will be no more."

As Kurai falls, Ahiru glares at the woman.

As the AX run toward the park, the buildings of the city come back together.

The woman gasps.

She vanishes in the wind.

The sky calms. The city is dark.

"Kurai!" Caterina calls. "Ahiru!"

Ahiru holds Abel up, sitting in front of the unconscious Kurai.

"It's all right," she says. "The enemy attacked, then disappeared!"

"The city is back to normal...!" says Kate.

Noelle holds Kurai. "Without transforming, she has such re-creation power!"

"She held her own fighting against Reiko," says Caterina. "So this is the power of the Priestess."

xxx

Reiko sips a drink in a crowded bar.

"Do you know the place where stars are born?" she says. "Strong stars, weak stars, their light, their power, all of it is born from there."

"Where is that!?" says the man, holding a bottle and glass. "So if I took that place, I could run stars freely! And if I can rule stars, space will belong to me!"

Reiko puts her drink down.

"Trash," she says, "will be as trash until its death."

She stands up and leaves.

"Wherever I go," she thinks, "only trash. Only stars of trash. This wasn't my planet either. All the power I have, I am the one who has been chosen by god. I want greater power. It must be somewhere. The bright star that will give me more power, suitable for me."

A cloaked figure in black sits on the ground, a glowing ball before him.

"The place where stars are born?" he says. "Yes, I know it, certainly. The home of the galaxy. The place where stars gush out as if from a fountain. Zero Star of Sagittarius. That is the center of the galaxy."

"The center of the galaxy," thinks Reiko.

She floats in space, staring at the stars.

"Come, come, my pretty little children. Where is the true star you desire? Tell your mother. Tell me, Destiny, and it will all be yours."

Reiko's eyes open, and she finds herself lying in bed.

"A dream...!"

She gets up.

"A dream let loose from long ago, of the wandering in search of home."

She approaches the steps in front of the large crystal held in the air.

"Before long, Kuri will come here. I can call upon Destiny for her to come here. So you can know the truth, come quickly, Kuri. Such a tiny planet, it's not suitable as the stage for our battle, not even for you. Come quickly, to where I stand, so you and I can release our true power!"

Rosencrutz kneels before her.

"Reiko, my Nezumi has..."

"I apologize, Reiko!" says Nezumi. "One more! Just give me one more chance! This time I'll do it!"

"You shamelessly come back here after disgracing yourself?" says Reiko. "Trash cannot be made into a star!"

"Reiko!"

The bracelets on Nezumi wrists unclasp, and fall to the ground.

Nezumi cries out as her body disintegrates.

xxx

Kurai floats through empty space.

"Where am I...?"

She hears a noise.

"The sound of water?"

She approaches a giant light.

"This is..."

"The Galaxy Cauldron, of Zero Star of Sagittarius."

Reiko pulls down at Kurai's ankle from below.

"It is your grave."

Kurai's eyes open.

"Kurai!" says Ahiru.

She sees the AX and Abel looking down at her.

"A dream!?" she thinks. "I thought I was being pulled, into that dark consciousness. The Galaxy Cauldron, what on earth...!?"

She feels a hand holding hers.

"Ahiru... You saved me, didn't you. I always felt it, the strength of your hand pulling mine. Thank you, Ahiru. Amazing, that I can have such faith in you. Could it be because you're an ally? Maybe you're an angel sent to me from everyone in the future. That's right... When I wake up, there are always friends watching over me."

"In every time," Kurai thinks, "my friends devote their lives to protecting me. But still, even though I'm grateful that I'm the High Priestess..."

"Kurai..." says Kate.

"Put together, it's all up to me. And so now, I want to devote my life to restoring all my friends. Caterina, Kate, Noelle... We aren't the only ones worthy of life. These bodies, too, are us. We are ourselves, body and all. They give us support, we live together. We look at them, call to them, embrace them. Our power is amplified by these bodies. Being with everyone, using strong power, that is a Vampire."

"Will your friends' bodies really return to normal?" Reiko said. "Will the future you know, really come?"

"It will come," Kurai thinks. "I believe! They aren't all dead! Our future will surely come! I'll use all the power I can, and I will rescue everyone! I'll bring back peace! I'll put everything back to normal! Surely! Reiko, what are you!? Why have you started this fight!? I must go, right away, to the place where Reiko stands!"

Xxx

"Kurai!?" says Abel. "You know of Zero Star of Sagittarius!?"

"Reiko told me. I'm going now! Reiko! I'm going to you!"

A voice from somewhere else speaks . . .

"Come quickly, Kurai, to the place where I am. I'll knock down more and more, I'll take more and more. Then with your one last remaining piece, I will show you the truth!"


	9. Memories

That huge light is coming toward us."

"The war is beginning. I'm scared, Cain."

"It's all right, Reiko. I'll protect you."

"For our peaceful and happy future, we won't take one step away from here."

Xxx

Kurai headed north with Abel, Ahiru, and the three AX.

"That giant cluster is the center of the Empire," Tres says. "Alpha Star of Sagittarius. And deeper, in the center of Alpha Star, is Zero Star of Sagittarius. The place where stars are born."

"The place where stars are born?"

"All the Methuselah are born from that Zero Star of Sagittarius."

"The place where vampires are born..." thinks Kurai. "All of the stars scattered across the world, and we... were born from there?"

"When you say the Methuselah is there," says Kate, "do you mean Reiko will rule the destiny of the earth?"

"Perhaps," says Abel. "Now, we will fly at once to Zero Star. But there is no guarantee whether or not we will be able to land safely."

"We're prepared, Priestess," says Noelle. "For the unknown realm, and the heart of the enemy land."

A flash of light blinds them.

As they look around, they see fog and darkness.

"Where are we...?" Kurai says.

A gigantic doorway looms before them, slowly creaking open.

"The gate to Zero Star!?"

They pass through the door, and find themselves in a desert.

Abel and Ahiru start coughing.

"My throat is so parched..." says Abel.

Kurai gasps.

A figure cloaked in a dark robe stands beside a withered tree, on a small boat in the sand, holding an oar.

"I am Cain," the figure says. "I am the ferryman of this desert river. Please come aboard, foreigners."

Abel's eyes widened in shock, but said nothing.

The six of them board the small boat, and float out through the sand.

The sands liquefy around them.

"The desert is turning to water!?"

The boat starts to sink.

Kurai falls deep through the water, gasping for air.

"Abel!" she calls as she drowns. "Ahiru, AX!"

Xxx

Kurai sits on a swing underwater, wearing her school uniform, her eyes cloudy.

"This is..."

She sees a man faintly outlined before her. The man wears dark green.

"I'm... All of a sudden, I'm here...?"

"Are those your friends?" the man asks.

He pointed out the others.

"My...friends...?"

The man picks them up.

"If you raise and care for cats, they'll be lonely when you die. It's much better to be alone. Don't you think?"

"Be alone...?" Kurai says. "No... It's lonesome by yourself... That's why I felt I should make lots of friends..."

"If you're lonesome. What kind of friends?"

"What kind?" Kurai thinks. "My friends... My friends... I can't really... remember..."

The man points to the heart-shaped ring on Kurai's finger.

"A lover? Do you have one?"

"Have a lover?" Kurai thinks. "I wonder if I did... Who is this ring from...? Who... am I...? I don't remember... anything..."

"Your memories as a person have no value," the man says. "Even that body is only a vessel. The thing that has value to us is..."

A metal bracelet adorns his wrist. He raises her arm.

"Power only!"

A blast strikes her friends.

Kurai feels the ashes that remain of her friends.

"Why can you kill them... so easily?" she asks. "We were born to live."

"Those with life," the man says, "are born to die."

He raises his oar to the air.

Kurai scream in pain, and collapses on the ground.

A woman in a light purple dress, peers down from above the surface, and cringes.

"Why...!?" Kurai says. "Are you trying to kill me...?"

"Because you came here to lose everything."

"To lose my name, my life, everything..." Kurai thinks. "No, that's wrong. I don't want to lose everything. I had so many precious friends. My name, my life were for those friends. Those allies. Right, I'm not here to lose everything. I came here to bring back my allies..."

"At the bottom of this river of oblivion," the man says, "nobody can defeat me."

He grins evilly as he raises his metal bracelet.

"Farewell, Priestess."

The woman in the purple dress pushes him away.

"Stop, Cain!"

"Reiko!"

"Priestess Kurai has been hurt enough! Leave the final judgement to me."

"Kurai...?" Kurai thinks.

The heart-shaped ring on her finger glows.

"Kurai... That name..."

The mark shines on her forehead.

"Right! I am Kurai! I came here to restore everything!"

She swims through the water.

She sees Ahiru, Abel, and the AX lying unconscious.

"Everyone!?"

Ahiru's eyes pop open.

"Ahiru!"

Kurai grabs her and swims with her up to the surface of the river.

"She got her memory back in my river of oblivion!" says Cain. "Damn you!"

"Cain!" Reiko says. "Please, stop this!"

Reiko creates a sphere of light around Kurai, Ahiru, Abel, and the Vampirates, carrying them out of the river onto dry ground.

"Ahiru, are you all right!?" Kurai says.

Ahiru shakes water from her head.

"Betraying me, Reiko?" Cain says.

"I only-!" says Reiko. "I just don't want my sister the same as me to be hurt by you."

Abel wakes up, and looks around dazedly.

"Abel!?" Kurai says.

"Abel!?"

Reiko scoops some water up with her hand, putting it to Abel's mouth.

"Have some water from my river of memory."

"Reiko!" says Cain.

Abel coughs.

"Kurai," he says. "This place...!"

"Abel!" says Kurai.

They turn to the two.

"I didn't come here for a meeting with death," Kurai says. "I came to get back my allies' souls! Where are they!?"

"The souls are not here," says Cain. "These are the vast outer moats, doubly guarding the Empire. The Desert Rivers. I am the Leader of the Rosencrutz Orden."

"I am the Priestess of the Empire."

"We won't let you leave from here, Priestess of Vampires," Cain says. "Not as you live."

"Cain!"

"If you don't want to see it, close your eyes, Reiko!"

"Have you forgotten!? The oath by which we decided to follow this path, to achieve our own peace and happiness!? Our clan was small, and poor. It was always chaotic, with never-ending fights. Mr Tiny came, and Death and silence came to our world. We had no choice but to do as he said. But if there is a lasting victory to the war, and I can unite the clans, we will have our new future, surely!"

The two hug.

"This time we'll have peace and happiness, Reiko."

"There is no peace and happiness with destruction!" Abel says. "Don't you know that!? How many have you killed! Even in the future, with you there will only be destruction and slaughter!"

"But, Abel," says Cain. "Is there a peaceful and happy future with you? A future where there is no war? Abel, the power you carry calls for war! As long as you exist, the wars will not end. From where we stand, the enemy is you! Whoever wins, the future will surely be the same. I will end this war now. I just want to have peace and happiness, together with Reiko. That's all."

"If that will truly end the war," Kurai says, "kill me."

The others gasp.

"I, too, came here to end the war."

"That's right," she thinks to herself. "I came now to end this war. I have always fought to end wars. That is the mission of a soldier. That is the wish of a soldier. All our wishes are always the same. No matter what future awaits us."

"Please, go, our true Priestess."

"Reiko!"

"Even if we don't repair things," says Cain, "if you die, if you don't die, the war will not end."

"Cain...!"

The two raised their hands.

"But nothing matters now. It won't stop."

They points their hands at Kurai.

Ahiru jumps in front of Kurai, holding up her own hands at the top, shielding them from the attack.

Energy swirls around the three unconscious AX.

Abel runs toward them.

"Kate! Noelle! Caterina!"

Reiko and Cain laugh as the the souls emerge from the AX'' bodies.

They rise into the air, taking the souls, and disappear.

"Damnit!" Kurai says. "Their three souls!?"


	10. Death

"Kate! Noelle! Caterina!" Abel runs to the three bodies lying on the ground.

"Abel!" Kurai calls. She grabs onto his hand.

"Let me go! The AX! I have to save them! Put out that blue fire! Their bodies are-!"

The three bodies turn to ash before them.

"Kate! Noelle! Caterina!" Abel yells. "Nooooo!" He runs crying to Kurai's arms.

"Their bodies...!"

"All that is a person is inside the soul," said Ahiru. "The lights of unknown power, the soul, won't disappear!"

"Won't disappear!"

"Abel!" Kurai says. "Let's go! We'll get back their sailor crystals! If we can get back their souls, we'll be able to bring their bodies back to life!"

"Kurai...!"

Kurai, Abel, and Ahiru fly alone through space.

A light appears in the distance.

"That light!?"

They see an image through it.

"A castle!?"

As they turn toward it, it vanishes.

"It disappeared!?"

Another light appears far behind them.

The castle materializes again, then vanishes.

"Again!?"

It appears again in another direction. They run toward it.

"We go toward it, we go toward it, and it disappears. We can't reach it."

"Kurai...!" says Abel.

"A mirage?" thinks Kurai. "An illusion? No! Reiko should be looking forward to fighting us as well. We shouldn't be unable to reach it. Where is it...? Where are you watching us, Reiko!? Where are everyone's souls!?"

Reiko smiles.

"Kurai," she says. "So you've finally made it here, to the Rosencrutz Orden..."

Two members of the Orden kneel before her.

"Reiko, please forgive us for the failures of others. We have brought you two new souls."

They present two souls, which are absorbed into the giant crystal held above them.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's still beautiful. The brilliance of the souls throughout the world...! Just as if the souls could be breathing inside this enormous Garden Crystal. Essentially their destroyed bodies and spirits, which carried nothing but the souls and some small power. The ability to make use of the great power, and everything, comes from the power of our Priestess, Reiko's soul."

"Soon I will have the most powerful souls in the galaxy," says Reiko. "When I have both the galaxy's most destructive, the soul I carry, and the infinite power of rebirth in Kurai's soul... I will be undefeatable. All of the galaxy-no, all of space will be mine in the same way!"

"Reiko, we have also brought the AX's crystals here."

The Orden members raise the three souls into the Garden Crystal above.

"On the next stage, we will obtain the souls of the remaining ones as well. Leave it to us!"

They disappeared.

"My soul is tingling..." thinks Reiko. "So the time has finally come."

Her soul glows on her chest, and the golden armor appears on her body.

"Kurai, I will be able to meet you at last. At the place where destiny began, the time has come at last to begin a new history of the world."

She walks through the silent hall of the palace.

XXX

A fog surrounds Kurai, Abel, and Ahiru as they run blindly.

"Fog!?" Kurai thinks. "All of a sudden!?"

She stops.

Rows and rows of crosses and tombstones line the ground before her.

"Where are we...!?"

They see a winged figure, standing in a swarm of butterflies.

"This is the final land to where the remnants of dead stars drift," the woman says. "These butterflies are the last flames of the stars. The funeral procession of the butterflies scatters across the galaxy, with never an interruption."

They see the faces of Kate, Noelle, and Caterina on three of the crosses in the ground.

"These graves...!?"

Abel drops to his knees.

"The AX's graves!? It can't be!"

"Look there," the woman says, pointing to a new grave being freshly dug. "It seems there are more with flames of life to extinguish here. I wonder what color of butterflies will fly this time."

Kurai looks at the three empty graves, and sees crosses with the faces of Abel, herself, and Ahiru.

"Our graves!?"

Vines rip into the air behind them, and wrap around their bodies.

"What a pity!" the woman says. "The next funeral procession will be for you!"

Kurai chokes for air as the vines tighten around her neck.

"I am the final Warrior for the true Priestess!" the woman says. "The soul hunter! I will give you the most beautiful and saddening funeral procession ever! For the end of the messiah of misfortune, I've decided on incineration! I want you to suffer!"

Flames light from her hands, and leap toward the three as they strain in their bonds. They cry out in pain as the flames burn them.

Ahiru lifted her hands and attacked, finishing off the blaze.

"By Reiko's attack, all their bodies were destroyed as humans," says Kurai. "Their souls were stolen. Not just us, but the Vampires throughout the world as well..."

"Will the future you know, really come?"

"It will come! By my own hands, I'll show you our future!"

"We don't have a moment to lose," she says. "We will surely get back all their souls! And then we'll bring all their bodies back to life, as they were!"

Kurai defeated the woman.

"This girl..." Kurai looked at Ahiru. "We don't know who she is, or what she wants. But we do know that she is a fine ally of ours. She's fought together with us until here, and we've been helped by her many times."

"I know. Could it be... Has she come here to us from a great distance? Reaching the center of the galaxy this easily... Power on par with Kurai's... Who on earth are you...?" Abel said.

Ahiru hides behind Kurai.

They turn.

"The fog is clearing!"

They see a large palace standing before them, with a huge crystal held at the top.

"Is that... the Rosencrutz Orden!?"

The Orden Members appear behind them.

"Welcome to our Soul Garden!" they say. "We are the Soul Gardeners."

"Phi!"

"Chi!"

"Where are the AX's souls!?" says Abel. "Return them!"

Chi points upwards.

"They can't be, inside that crystal!?"

"What's this!" says Phi. "Again new souls have made their way here to the Rosencrutz Orden? We have you in our grasp!"

Crystals appear around them.

"Our garden's Garden Crystals will take care of you with pleasure!"

"Kurai!" says Abel. "I'll fight as well!"

"Abel!?"

"I'm not letting them win! Kate! Noelle! Caterina! Give me power!"

He thrusts his arm out and attacks, destroying crystals on the ground.

Phi and Chi gasp. The remaining crystals vanish.

"They're gone!?" thinks Abel. "Where are the AX's souls!?"

"Damn you!" says Phi attacking.

Abel counterattacked.

A storm of flowers swirls around Abel.

Kurai lunged.

"Kurai!" says Abel. "The center of their power is their bracelets!"

Kurai took note, and attacked their bracelet.

Phi is destroyed.

Chi leaps at Abel from behind, plunging her staff through his back.

"Abel!" says Kurai.

Blood spews as Chi yanks out the staff.

Kurai attacks Chi.

Abel falls to the ground.

Kurai runs to him.

"Darren!"

She holds him in her arms.

"Abel!"

"Kurai..." says Abel. "When this war ends... I wonder if a new world will begin... Next time... Maybe it will be a world without war... But if the wars continue... it will be all right..."

He takes Kurai's hand.

"I want to be born together with everyone... again... I wonder... if I will..."

"Of course," says Kurai. "We are warriors with beautiful souls. We can be born again and again."

"That's right... The souls... are our... hope... aren't they..."

His head falls back lifelessly.

"Abel!" Kurai cries.

A staff strikes the ground between Abel's legs.

"If you die too," says Chi, "the futile fighting and suffering will end! For our kingdom's ruler of the galaxy-no! For our ruler of the universe, I must sacrifice that infinite power carried in your soul to Cain!"

"Whatever lives it costs, the war will not end," Kurai thinks. "There can be no victor left from this war!"

She stands up.

"I won't let you have it. With the power of my soul, I will end the war!"

"Our hope..."

"The souls aren't for destruction and war! They are for peace and happiness, and rebirth! I believe in that!"

She thrusts her wrist out, and Chi is destroyed.

Lights appear at the palace gates.

"Kurai!" calls Ahiru.

She jumps and pushes Kurai away as Darren's body is lifted into the air.

Abel's body is torn apart, leaving only his soul.

"Abel!?"

The soul vanishes, and reappears in the hand of a familiar figure.

"Your next opponents..." she says.

The AX stand at the palace gates, bracelets adorning their wrists.

"Are us, Priestess!"


	11. Confrontation

Kurai stares in disbelief.

Abel and Ahiru stand with their mouths hanging open.

"It can't be..."

On the steps of the palace stand the Task Force.

They stare at Kurai coldly.

Kurai smiles. "Kate, Noelle, Caterina! Everyone...!"

Abel sees the metal bracelets on their wrists.

"Reiko's bracelets!?"

Ahiru grabs onto Kurai's leg and struggles to hold her back.

"Priestess!"

Kurai knocks her away.

"Priestess!?" says Abel.

Kurai runs toward the palace.

"Everyone...!"

"Kill the Priestess," Cain says. "Then take her soul!"

"Your first opponents are us!" say Kate, Noelle and Caterina, attacking.

Abel and Ahiru jump in front of Kurai, and are struck by the attacks.

"Abel! Ahiru!"

Kurai looks at the others. "Everyone!? Are they being manipulated!?"

"Priestess!" says Abel. "Their bracelets! If you take those off, they'll be back to normal for sure!"

Ahiru grabs onto Abel.

"Ahiru!?"

She holds Abel's hand.

"What!?"

Abel sees the images of the others being killed.

"Kate, Noelle, Caterina!"

He drops to his knees.

"Ahiru, these visions... Were they all taken this way!? Just like dust, in one moment they were...!"

"I am next!" says Kate.

"Then, the ones before us now...!" Abel thinks.

Kate attacked

Kurai is knocked to the ground.

"Priestess!"

Abel runs to her.

"They're enemies!" she says. "Impostors made by Reiko!"

"Enemies!?" says Kurai. "No way! These powers, these strengths... It's them! They're alive!"

"That's right. It's us," says Noelle. "We have been newly reborn!"

The attack strikes Kurai, throwing her back across the ground.

"Noelle!?" thinks Abel. "No, this is not Noelle! Priestess!"

"Reiko," says Kate. "Give me power!"

Abel cries out in pain as the blast strikes her.

"Abel!" Kurai calls.

"Priestess," says Abel. "These are not them. They're enemies! It's hard, but remember that! All their bodies were torn apart by Reiko and the others."

"But... They're all there. Alive before us, standing here, fighting..."

"That's right!" Abel says. "But this is not their true power! They've been reincarnated with Reiko's power... To kill us!"

"It's my turn next," says Caterina, attacking

"Caterina!" thinks Abel.

Ahiru rushes in front of them, blocking the attack

"Bothersome!," says Kate, attacking.

Kurai holds off the attack. It is redirected, knocking down one of the palace pillars.

"No! That's not Kate! This destruction power, this strength is...!"

Noelle and Kate stand together and attack.

Their joined attack strikes Ahiru.

Kurai starts to run toward her, but is stopped by a noise behind her.

Caterina attacks.

Kurai holds out her arms, and fights off the attack with a blast of her own.

"Hmph!" says Cain.

He turns and runs inside the building.

Kurai chases in after him.

He turns to face her, his eyes blank.

"Cain!" Abel thinks. "No, that's not Cain... Those eyes..."

The AX enter the building behind him.

Their power clashes with Kurai's, as she fights off their attack.

"Damnit!" says Cain.

Abel lifts himself off the ground.

"Priestess! Everyone!"

"This can't be happening!" say Abel. "If we're all killed, who will protect Earth!? Who will protect this world!? What will become of our future!? Open your eyes! If you don't, it will all end here!"

Kurai lifted her head and attacked.

Reiko holds up her hand, looking coldly at Kurai.

"Is this the power of the soul known as the strongest in the world?" she says. "It's merely the dance of a slight breeze."

"I can't do this..." Kurai thinks. "I can't defeat them."

The three hold out their hands and attack.

Kurai's back is ripped open as she falls backward, blood spilling from her mouth.

She falls limp on the ground.

She coughs up blood.

Cain stands over her.

"So her power has been broken. Heh heh..."

"If I don't act, we'll be killed!" Abel thinks. "If I don't fight and defeat them, it will end here! We won't be able to reach the end."

Ahiru grabs his arm.

"No," she says. "Don't do it. This is the Priestess' fight. The future of the world depends on it. It's the Priestess' fight, so... So believe in her."

Kurai weakly lifts herself from the ground.

"Put her to an end," Cain says.

"Priestess!" Abel calls.

Abel clasps his hands together in prayer.

Kurai stands up.

"That's right. Things can't end here yet! I can't give up!"

She splays her hands out in a display of power.

The bracelets shatter, and the AX disintegrate into ash.

Kurai gasps.

Their souls remain.

"Their souls!?"

She reaches for them, and they vanish.

She turns, standing in the hall of the palace. She sees the giant crystal held in the air.

And Reiko sitting on a large plush seat, with Steve standing next to her.

"I trust my golems put on a great performance for you? I am Cain's Priestess. Welcome to the castle of the Rosencrutz, Priestess."

"I've finally made it," Kurai thinks. "To you, Reiko...!"

"You're injured. They even made you bleed... Is your beautiful and radiant power so full of hatred toward me?"

"My power is not full because of hatred," Kurai says. "It is because I believe in the power of humanity. They have all continued to give me strength. It is because I believe in the power of their souls. I've made it this far. It is because I believe in my own power."

"I want to be born together with everyone again," said Abel.

"My allies will surely help me. It is because I believe we will live together again. It is because I believe we will have the future we've made! I can fight now."

"Your future with the ones you love?" Reiko asks.

Cain steps forth from the shadows, and kisses Reiko's lips.

Kurai gasps.

"This man, and the power, everything in this world belongs to me! If you want it back, you must fight me!"

"I will fight!" Kurai says. "I will fight and end this war!"

She raises her hands in defiance.

Reiko raises her arms with their bracelets.

Power surrounds them both as they charge toward each other.


	12. Savior

Power surrounds them both as they charge toward each other.

Abel and Ahiru run into the palace.

Ahiru holds up her glowing heart scepter.

"Kurai!" thinks Abel. "Reiko!"

She looks at Ahiru.

"Ahiru, you know about this battle, don't you. If you really are my little sister, then our future must exist. We win this battle, and save everyone, don't we!? So that's why you told me to believe in Kurai, right!? Ahiru, who are you really?"

The small girl looks into his eyes.

Reiko knocks Kurai to the ground, holding her down.

"I was born alone as trash, on a planet of trash," she says. "I could do nothing but wander in solitude, living my days like I was in hell. But I have power. One day, it suddenly awakened. I was a chosen one. But being a mere sailor soldier would be the same as being trash. I had to have the strongest planet, carrying the strongest power! I came searching for a planet of my own, suitable for me! And then I found it. A magnificent planet. And to get that planet, I need the galaxy's ultimate power!"

Kurai throws her off, into the air.

"The power of the sailor soldiers is for justice and peace in the galaxy! For the ones we love and our friends!"

"Love? Friends?" says Reiko. "Massing in groups is evidence of being trash. The only thing we can trust is our own power. Only the source of power, the souls. That is everything. The destroyed people, too, as long as they have souls, can be reincarnated in flesh with ease. And again, they will be items to be easily broken. Heh heh."

Kurai gasps.

"You should know that too," says Reiko. "What you believe is only an empty illusion. Do you still say you believe in that?"

She stands beneath the large crystal holding the sailor crystals, next to Light.

"Things like love and friends! The peace of trash! Coexistence! The future!"

"You, the soldier of destruction, will not understand!" says Kurai. "The hands, the bodies, the words of our friends and those we love carry all kinds of power! My coming here, my living to this point, my ability to fight, is because I have my friends and the ones I love! That is a warrior!"

Reiko stares at her.

Light and the Garden Crystal overhead vanish.

"They disappeared!?" Kurai thinks.

Reiko turns and runs away into the palace. Kurai follows her.

"Carrier of the galaxy's strongest soul!" Reiko thinks. "Why is it Kurai! That girl of trash who doesn't do a thing! But whatever it takes, I have to get her power! So I can defeat Steve and make the entire galaxy mine! I must have that power!"

She stops and turns, facing Kurai.

They stand on a cliff, overlooking a gigantic open cylinder of energy that shines with light.

Kurai looks down at it.

"This...!"

"This is the holy land of the souls," says Reiko. "The Galaxy Cauldron. Strong stars and weak souls. Trash and souls. This is the place where all the stars throughout the galaxy are born."

"The place where souls are born..." thinks Kurai. "It's so pretty... In all the galaxy, the sacred place most filled with possibility."

The Cauldron bubbles, steam rising into the air.

"This place," says Reiko, "is the ultimate stage, where I will have the final chosen one. Everything is here. Here everything will be gone."

Light stands next to her as the Garden Crystal appears in the air.

She raises the giant crystal over the ledge.

"Reiko!?" Kurai shouts. "What are you...!"

The crystal sinks into the Cauldron, and fades away.

"Everyone's souls...!?"

"Now there is nothing left of the galaxy's souls in the mother sea," says Reiko. "It's so exhilarating. This Cauldron is the universe's strongest, completely unmatched star!"

Abel and Ahiru reach the cliff.

Kurai stares into the Cauldron.

"All their souls are gone?" she thinks. "Gone!? I always believed... that with the souls... if I could return everyone back to normal... I would bring them back... That final hope... Their souls..."

She grasps her weapon.

"I won't let you," she says. "I won't let you do this, Reiko!"

"Yes, more, more," says Reiko. "Fuel the flames of rage and the storms of hatred."

She raises her arm toward Abel.

"Be alone, Kurai," she says. "That feeling will awaken the bottomless power inside you."

"Abel!

Reiko flicks her wrist, and Abel falls back over the ledge.

"Then, when you've heard all the truth from the Vampaneze, your power will explode recklessly, and along with the Vampaneze, you'll be no more."

"Abel!" Kurai cries.

Ahiru gaspS.

"At that time, I, Reiko, will become the true ruler of the Cauldron!"

Abel falls into the light of the Cauldron, and is gone.

"Nooooo!" Kurai cries, tears in her eyes.

Ahiru gasps.

She reaches toward Kurai.

"Kurai-"

"Ahiru!?"

"Ohhhh..." says Steve.

"Have you drawn out your power!" says Reiko. "You, too, will be the victim of the Vampaneze, Kurai! Inside this Cauldron, the zenith of power will explode, and you will be blown away along with Steve!"

She attacks Kurai.

Ahiru blocks her.

"She repelled it!?" thinks Reiko. "Damn her!"

"Ohhh..."

"Steve-sama!" Reiko says. "Now I give you the galaxy's strongest soldier, Kurai! The time has come at last! I will have power, the galaxy, the whole universe! I give you Kurai, boiling with the highest power!"

A blast shoots up from the Cauldron.

Reiko is knocked from the cliff.

"Reiko!?" Kurai calls.

She reaches out and grabs her hand, pulling her back up.

A giant mass of energy forms before them.

Power blasts at Kurai. She holds Ahiru. Reiko lies unconscious.

Light glows around Kurai.

"Ohhh! Such power!" says Steve. "That white brilliance! The power of the strongest light in the galaxy! So it has finally made it here to me. I am Steve. The one who missed becoming a vampire. And the ruler of this Cauldron's souls of darkness."

"Steve!?" says Kurai.

"Successor to the power of the light of this beautiful Cauldron. Heh heh heh."

"Your coming here was destiny," says Steve. "Where there is light, there is darkness. The darkness calls to the light, and the light calls again to the darkness. Our destiny matches. As before, when everything was one here, the time has now come again for light and darkness to join hands! Warrior of the galaxy's strongest light, Kurai! Give me your power now! At last, my long-awaited wish has come, for me to rule all the universe instead of this Cauldron!"

Reiko wakes up. She looks at Kurai.

"Why did you save me?"

"Reiko!" says Kurai.

"Finish me off! Steve paid me no mind from the start. I can't win over such a huge existence after all. My planet wasn't here, either."

"I gave you my hand because inside you, I saw the loneliness of myself. I don't want to lose any more friends."

"I am an enemy!" says Reiko. "This is war!"

"I can't fight anymore," says Kurai. "Everyone is gone. All this time, it wasn't for peace and justice. I only fought for the ones I love, and my friends. But now they're all gone. If I don't have my most precious ones... For who, for what should I fight?"

"Heh..." says Reiko. "Both you and I can't fight. If the last sailor soldier is no more... Will now be the end of war?"

"The end of war..."

"Ohh..." says Steve as power surrounds them.

"The thing I've been praying for," thinks Kurai. "In this form..."

"No," says Ahiru. "The wars will not end. They will always continue. But you can end this war, the one now. To save the galaxy's future. Kurai, with your last power, eliminate the source of all the enemies, Steve and the Cauldron, and end the war!"

"Steve, and the Cauldron!? Ahiru?"

"Steve is now completely one with the Cauldron. To completely eliminate Steve, there is no choice but to destroy the Cauldron."

"But if the Cauldron is gone, no more stars can be born! Someday the galaxy's future will be no more!"

"But if you don't do that," Ahiru says, "this war and the history of suffering will continue forever! It will all be on your shoulders, Kurai. You will regret this, Kurai!"

"Ahiru...?"

Kurai looks at her.

"As long as souls can continue to be born, war will not end," Kurai says. "The darkness calls to the light, and the light calls again to the darkness. Is this the will of the galaxy? Saying I will end the war... Will that be the end of everything? And that glaive of death, this time must I be the one to bring it down?"

"But you have no choice," says Ahiru. "There is no alternative. To bring peace to the galaxy, there is nothing else..."

"But even if this galaxy is destroyed," says Reiko, "somewhere a new Cauldron will surely be born again. Somewhere a new future will begin, and light and darkness may be born again. The end of war will not come so easily. A new future... Amazing, that those words are still inside me."

"Yes," says Kurai. "Yes. New futures will always continue to be created. And there, light and darkness, war and hope, life and death, joy and pain, will all exist again. Everything, that is this universe."

"Kurai...!" thinks Reiko. "You believe in such a distant future for this universe? Kurai, are you the warrior that draws in everything? Kurai... I've finally found it. My planet..."

She reaches out toward Kurai.

The bracelets on her wrists crack.

She drops to her knees.

"Too big... Too radiant... My arms don't reach..."

"Reiko!?"

"But that planet will continue to shine in this universe eternally..."

The bracelets shatter.

Reiko is no more.

"Reiko!?" Kurai cries.

All that remains is the golden brooch she wore.

Kurai holds it in her hands as tears fall from her eyes.

"Ahiru," she says. "I won't give up. Everyone always told me... At the end of war there is hope and future. I will make our future. So don't you abandon hope and the future, either. Believe. Our star of hope will never disappear. As long as it keeps shining, we will be all right. We won't be defeated."

"Right," says Ahiru.

Light glows around her.

She transforms, becoming older. She floats up in her glowing adult body, and kisses Kurai.

A spark of light shines on her forehead.

"Ahiru?"

Their hands touch.

"I see..." Kurai thinks. "We won't lose. Because we are warriors."

Energy storms around them.

"Kurai!" calls Steve. "The mother Cauldron is your grave! This is the birth of the universe's strongest soul, Steve!"

Kurai leaps into the air.

"Steve. And Reiko. I know now, why you were seeking my power. It is the same as the feeling that I seek for the ones I love, and my friends. We are all souls alone. We meet our desire, wanting to be as one. As one. That is how we begin. And now, I, too, will seek you. I will envelop you. Inside this Cauldron, to save everything."

"Ohhhh!"

Kurai descends into the Cauldron.


	13. Ending and Beginning

Kurai descends into the Cauldron.

"Save everything... Whether or not I can do it... I don't know... But..."

"We're always with you," say the Vampirates.

"Fight without hesitation," says Darren.

"There is always hope and rebirth," says Ahiru.

"The sailor crystals are our hope," says Larten.

Kurai enters Chaos.

"Our hope."

Her clothes peel into feathers blowing away as she flows through the light.

"Vampirates sleeping inside the Cauldron. Sailor crystals. And my many friends across the galaxy. Please. Please give me strength!"

"Ohhhh," says Chaos.

A glowing light rises out of the Cauldron.

A winged figure is bathed in power.

"Ultimate Power!" Kurai calls out.

The souls shoot out in all directions at Chaos.

"Ohhh! Are you trying to break me apart!? Stop! Ohhhh!"

Chaos screams as the souls envelop it.

"I feel all their power..." Kurai thinks. "Throughout my body... Now I can rescue them... From inside here..."

Her body melts away as she drops into the Cauldron.

Lights burst into the air.

"The souls of the sailor soldiers scattered in the Cauldron," says a figure, "are returning to their original forms, and going back to their own planets."

Kurai sees the woman's face.

"Ahiru?"

"They are all still just souls born from the Cauldron, but as they reach their respective homes, they will grow, and return to their forms of before."

"It can't be," says Kurai. "Am I...dead?"

"No," says the woman. "This power of rebirth is the realization of the power of all the galaxy's sailor crystals as one. This is the Cosmos' powers, making everything into the static Cosmos, the ultimate Power."

"Cosmos!? Ultimate Power!? Who are you...?"

The woman in a with large wings, stands before them.

"I am Cosmos. I am your true self"

"Cosmos!?" says Kurai. "It can't be... It can't be... Are you me!?"

"I am only a coward," the woman says. "I abandoned everything, and ran away from where I should have been. Eternally, I am no match for the final courage and strength you displayed."

"Final courage!? Then, am I-!? Can I be...dead?"

"Do not worry," she says. "You, the same as the other souls, were reborn by that Ultimate Power. Someday, in that flow of lights, you will arrive safely back in your home. This is the Cauldron. Where the souls are born, and where they finally return. To engage the source of all the enemies who inhabited here, Chaos, You melted along with Chaos into the Cauldron's sea of origin. Not your power, but the Cauldron, and the galaxy, were able to return everyone. But in the end, you could not completely eliminate Chaos."

Memories echo in her mind.

"From an overwhelming future, where I lost the war to Chaos, I gave up everything and ran away. Repeated massacres, a long, painful war... The enemy that appeared, the strong, enormous Chaos... With the way of fighting we had used, we didn't stand a chance. Even if we defeated it, even if we returned the peace of before, the damage taken, the price we paid, would be too much. Too far-reaching. We couldn't do it. I don't know anymore, why there are wars. What is right. What should I do? When I'm lost, when I'm hurt, I remember. The war here. Back then at the Cauldron. If I had eliminated it, would the pain, would the war have ended? After regretting it so many times, I came here. To make it right this time."

A small girl floats down from above, holding an umbrella over her head.

"The me of here, too, was all alone. Always suffering. So I was always by her side, to support her. I was going to make her choose the right path this time...But I knew. The chosen path was not a mistake. Nobody can destroy the place where stars are born. Because of this place, we can continue living. Time and time again, we can start over. I won't run away anymore. I'll go ahead to the future. Because I was blessed with great power by Eternal Sailor Moon. All the courage and strength to stand alone, the courage and strength to accept everything! I had forgotten it. The matchless strength!"

"Cosmos..."

"Now you, who saved the galaxy, is the true me. When, like you, I can have the courage to stand alone, and the courage to accept everything, at that time I can be the true Cosmos. Now, you shall return as well! To the place where you must return, to the person you must protect!"

She raises her scepter, and Kurai is transformed into lights, joining the others

Alone, she watches as Kurai goes.

Inside the Cauldron

"It's warm... This smell is familiar..."

Kurai sits up.

"Me...? I'm alive? I was going to envelop Chaos. At the final moment... I was repelled."

She looks at the light surrounding her.

"This place? Is everyone gone...? Chaos... The Cauldron... Everyone..."

She feels a touch at her back.

"Kurai."

She turns, standing up, and takes Darren's hands.

"Kurai!" the Vampirates call.

"Everyone...!" she says.

Darren kisses her hand. "Thanks to your power, Kurai."

"Kurai...!" says Debbie. "You were alone... We couldn't protect you. Sorry."

"We wanted to be with you...!" says Alice.

"You continued to call on us, to draw on our power... Thank you, Kurai." Says Arra.

"I believed," Kurai says, "that I would be with you. We're all one again. Being as one, our thoughts meshing... Now we are together again."

She hugs them.

A small figure appears.

"Such strong brilliance of stars," it says. "Inside this Cauldron, the souls' forms are fully ready."

"Cauldron?" says Kurai. "Is this place inside the Cauldron?"

"Yes," says the figure.

"And you...?"

"I am a Guardian. Guardian and holy spirit of this place. Long ago, there were shining stars that came here like you, as perfect star forms. In my breast I held the cast-off shell of a small soul. That soul, too, carried strong brilliance like yours, Priestess. Saying it would come here to me, that life was lost to this Cauldron's sea of origin. Saying you want to create a new history of the souls? I wonder if that means you want to leave here in those soul forms?"

"We want to go live together, always, like this," says Kurai. "We want to make our future like this. However hard it may be, we want to live these lives!"

They are all enclosed in light, and thrown into the air.

"Guardian!" Kurai calls as she flies away. "Is Chaos...!"

They disappear.

"The core of Chaos is melted into the Cauldron. Now they have become too small to be found. They might be born again. Because this is the place where souls, and possibilities, are born..."

Somewhere a few years later

Many years have passed - Kurai and Darren, naked, are in bed.

Darren lies next to Kurai in bed.

He leans over, and wakes her with a kiss.

"Morning."

"Morning, Darren..." she says. "It feels like I've been having a long, long dream."

"What kind of dream?"

"I don't remember."

The sun shines over the building

"Hey, Darren..."

She touches her hands to his face.

"Say those words one more time."

"I already said them fifty times last night."

"Just once more!"

"Okay. One last time."

He kisses her.

"Marry me, Kurai."

The sun shines through the window of the church as they kiss.

A light glows in Kurai's chest.

"Oh..."

"What?"

"I felt something now," she says. "That a star was being born inside of me. That soon, our daughter... a new soul, will be born."

She holds the bouquet of flowers as they walk up the aisle.

"Say... Until our duties end someday, will we always protect this planet together..."

"We will," says Darren. "Of course we will."

"Will we always live together?"

"I promise. We will always be together."

They kiss.

"I promise too" she thinks. "I will always protect you."

She runs outside.

"And I will always protect our precious friends."

She joins the Vampirates.

"Darren!" she calls.

Darren looks at her in the sunlight.

"Someday we will be gone," he thinks. "New sailor soldiers, new stars will be born... But Kuria, you will forever be immortal. For all eternity, you will be the most beautiful, brilliant light."


End file.
